UNIONDALE, N.Y—Adrian Mannarino is a curious case. At 29, he’s playing some of his best tennis yet and he’s achieved a career high ranking at #25. But somehow, he’s earned less than $5 million on the pro tour and is the only player in the New York Open semifinals who has never hoisted a champions trophy at an ATP Tour level event.

He can take care of both of those things here in New York in two matches. A title would vault Mannarino into the top 20 and the $119,000 winner’s check will put him just over $5,000,000 in career earnings. He’ll face Sam Querrey this afternoon, and although Querrey is ranked higher than Mannarino, the Frenchman has owned the American in their three prior meetings, including straight sets in Cincinnati last summer.

I’m shocked and disappointed, Ryan Harrison, to hear you tell me how you really feel about me as a black tennis player in the middle of our NY match. I thought this was supposed to be an inclusive gentleman’s sport.

The accusations made by Donald Young tonight following our match are absolutely untrue. I’m extremely disappointed that someone would say this in reaction to a lost tennis match. Any video/audio will 100% clear me and I encourage anyone with the available resources to find it.

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK–Everyone knows there was some kind of disagreement last night between countrymen Ryan Harrison and Donald Young during Harrison’s 6-3, 7-6(4). Since no one requested Donald Young in the press room for a post-match conference, we’re left with serious allegations on a dangling tweet. While many are piling on Harrison and have twitter-convicted him of likely making a racist statement to Young based solely on his past on-court ranting, Harrison downplayed any controversy in his post match press conference only to discover the Young tweet long after the matches had ended at the old Nassau County Coliseum. The Young tweet was sent at 12:03 a.m. and Harrison responded at 12:47 a.m.

Harrison Signing Busted Racquet for the Fan who Snagged It.

Twelve hours later, it was a ghost town of information at the tournament. Press doesn’t bump into players here every minute. The athletes are cloistered away in the basement of the Coliseum or better yet, they’re in their rooms in the Marriott just across the parking lot via an underground exit. Harrison teams up with Stevie Johnson this afternoon in doubles against Scott Lipsky and Divij Sharan. With a win, Harrison might be able to give us clues as to what may have been said by him that could have caused offense and harm to Young, even in a distorted context. Otherwise, most of us will have to wait for Young to play doubles tomorrow to get more information. Harrison and Young are each one doubles win away from facing each other on the other side of the net again at the New York Open.

I’m personally tired of politics and tennis together on twitter. I go to sports to escape reality. In my 40-something reality, I can’t even imagine a hot-head like Harrison ever saying something remotely racist on court to, of all players, an American teammate. I am not saying Young is a liar by any means. Both of the players are credible and I’ve enjoyed watching them over the years without regard to their personal politics. My brain has to err on the side of a big-time misunderstanding, because a racial taunt in our sport should never be tolerated and Team USA has never attacked one of their own like this. Part of the twitter “evidence” against Harrison is a statement he may have made at a prior tournament where he used a disparaging term against a German player. Well, “F*ing German” and these accusations are completely different. I’m desperately trying to get information from anyone who may have heard anything last night. Even the security staff in the building who were court side during last night’s match claim they heard nothing and none were aware of the resulting controversy on social media. As I write, Steve Johnson won the first set of his singles match, 6-1, meaning we’re closer to the moment that Harrison can address this matter and Americans can get back to winning matches in New York.

EDIT: I just spoke with a leading American player who indicated that he’d never sensed any animosity whatsoever between Young and Harrison and also lamented the twitter trial and conviction.

Chris Eubanks won a tight first set against Ernesto Escobedo today before Escobedo took control of the match to qualify at the New York Open, an ATP 250 event at NYCB Live in Uniondale. A late first set time violation warning confused Escobedo long enough to drop the opener before coming back to win, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

“Maybe I did go over the time by a little bit,” he said. “It was a big point and he broke me. I didn’t focus in my service game (in the first). After the first set, I just told myself to keep on going, stay positive and keep on working hard.”

Ernesto Escobedo (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Escobedo agreed with me that his little bit of pro experience was the edge between EE and Eubanks today. “I believe so because late in the second set he looked super-tired, so that was a key sign to me,” he said. “And I just told myself to keep pushing and stay positive to win this match. But on the other side of things, (Eubanks) had a great serve, how many aces did he have, like 40?”

Eubanks had 24.

He loves the courts. They’re “super-slow”, Escobedo said.

Two out of four possible American qualifiers became a reality this afternoon and it was a good day for American tennis. Adrian Menendez-Maceiras was the first to qualify today with a straight sets victory over Liam Broady, 7-5, 6-3. He was the only one who had an easy ride. The other two qualifiers, Bjorn Fratangelo and Stefano Travaglia, needed three sets to advance.

The last time Travaglia stopped through New York, he qualified for his first U.S. Open. This time, he qualified for the New York Open and did it the sneaky way, holding off four match points to win a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) thriller. The hardest part was coming straight from Quito, Ecuador and their altitude to play an indoor event in New York, he said.

Under the retired Number 32 banner, the number belonging to pro basketball legend Julius Erving at NYCB Live, Liam Broady won the first set and the first match of the Inaugural New York Open, an ATP 250 tour event in Uniondale, NY on Sunday on Stadium Court. He played a familiar foe in countryman Cameron Norrie. For his part, Broady will face Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and be relegated to the Grandstand Court today. Stadium Court, like the sports history memories made within the former Nassau County Veterans Coliseum hosting this tournament is an American showcase today.

Chris Eubanks takes on compatriot Ernesto Escobedo, Bjorn Fratangelo faces Alex Bulbik from Kazakhstan and Jared Donaldson meets big Croatian Ivo Karlovic. And that’s just the day session. Tonight’s line up on the same court features Ryan Harrison against Donald Young and Frances Tiafoe looking to spoil Sebastian Korda’s tour level main draw debut.

Eubanks effectively breezed through his match yesterday against top qualifying seed Taro Daniel in 71 minutes and seemed to draw a lot of inspiration from the section full of American players there to cheer on their man. He can expect more of that today, and I expect that he will overcome Escobedo, a player with more experience at the pro level.

The last time Stefano Travaglia came to New York, he qualified for the U.S. Open. Today, he faces Tim Smyczek on grandstand court in an attempt to qualify for the New York Open. In a two round qualifier, anything can happen. And I believe Travaglia will head into a New York main draw for the second consecutive time.

Inaugural ATP New York 250 Features Kevin Anderson and Top Americans Including Ryan HarrisonSteen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic

The inaugural New York Open, a 250 on indoor hard courts in Long Island, New York, features black courts, most of the top American men on tour, and top seed Kevin Anderson, who was a finalist at the 2017 US Open in New York City. Who will find success at the first edition of this tournament?

Top Half:

Kevin Anderson reached the final in his only other ATP tournament this season, the 250 in Pune, and expectations are he’ll match that in New York. Anderson opens with a qualifier or Mackenzie McDonald. McDonald recently made a challenger final in Dallas, but Anderson will be the favorite. AO boys champion Sebastian Korda will make his ATP main draw debut against fellow young gun Frances Tiafoe. Nikoloz Basilashvili takes on Dudi Sela, Basilashvili over Tiafoe is my pick for round 2, with Anderson winning a quarterfinal against Basilashvili.

John Isner will be happy to back on North American hard courts, where he makes a majority of his living. Isner looks set to face Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals. He’ll need to beat Radu Albot/qualifier, to get there. Nishikori, coming back from injury and with a recent challenger title in the bag, faces Noah Rubin, with Victor Estrella/Evgeny Donskoy to follow. Nishikori, presuming he’s moving along with his comeback efforts, is my pick against Isner in the quarters.

Sam Querrey has been poor to start 2018, but he’ll be the favorite against Matt Ebden or Mikhail Youzhny. I’ll back Ryan Harrison against Donald Young, Jared Donaldson/Ivo Karlovic, and Querrey. Harrison has points to defend this week, and though Karlovic and Querrey are tough, they are far from unbeatable right now.

Peter Gojowczky has dark horse potential, and he should at least beat a qualifier. Adrian Mannarino is the favorite to reach the quarters though. I’ll back Steve Johnson to beat a qualifier and then Jeremy Chardy/qualifier before falling to Mannarino in the quarters.

Anderson plays well on this surface, and should be fitter than Nishikori. Harrison at home should have a good week, but Anderson should be the favorite to take home the title with this unbalanced draw.

R.I.P. Memphis Open. Long Live The Slightly Pricier New York OpenSteve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Last year’s news of the Memphis Open’s move to Long Island was bittersweet to me. There’s very little in the way of higher level tour tournaments in America’s Heartland, and with the demise of Memphis, that leaves just Houston, Cincinnati and a lot of America in between. The Memphis Open had been around since 1975 and finally threw in the towel due to money and a “lack of stars”. On the other hand, I thought, the New York Open: an indoor event in New York: a place for East Coast tennis junkies to get their fix in the dead of winter and a full six months away from the US Open. That has potential.

The bittersweet turned slightly more bitter than sweet when I saw the ticket prices for the newly repackaged Memphis Open. Gone are the cheap bleachers in the Volunteer State. The Big Apple has decided that fans should pay over $500 to sit in premier seating for the final rounds of the New York Open.

Like the Front Row? 1 Saturday Semifinals seat sets you back $582.25!

Perhaps we’re expecting Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and Jay-Z to show up? That would be fun.

What seemed every bit as funny as a Ben Stiller film was seeing the prices on Ticketmaster for Sunday’s qualifying opener: $148.50 (plus fees) for a front row seat at first round qualifying for an ATP 250, part of the tournament’s touted “Diamond Priority Seating”.

The last time I checked, a qualifying field for an ATP 250 is akin to a first or second round match at an ATP Challenger. The last time I checked, you could attend an ATP Challenger for free or for a very reasonable price, like $10.00. And qualifying at larger tournaments involves open seating. The US Open draws thousands to its qualifying rounds with open seating and doesn’t charge a penny in admission.

The New York Open will be doing things a little differently. All front row seats for Center Court qualifying on Sunday are $148.50 and all 2nd row seats are $73.50. Let me put that in perspective: I bought decent tickets to a Taylor Swift concert in July for less than the price of a front row ticket to qualifying at an ATP 250. And I bought front row tickets to the final performance of Ringling Brother’s “Greatest Show on Earth” last year for less than NYO qualifying.

You like your ATP 150 qualifying close up? That’ll be $181.35 a ticket, please.

The New York Open has a deal where kids can get in free with a paid adult admission for some of the week with good intentions, but when Mom and Dad are paying over $50 a seat after service charges for upper level seats and piling the family onto the Long Island Railroad, it still looks to be a $200+ afternoon. In all honesty, Memphis organizers were pretty generous too, giving thousands of free and reduced bleacher tickets away over the years to youth organizations.

Memphis Tried

Since we’re talking New York, let’s talk about Wall Street’s favorite term: return on investment. If you were smart enough to buy a weekend-long ticket to this weekend’s Fed Cup tie in Asheville, North Carolina, your $100 ticket is now going for $900 on resale sites. If you were lucky enough to buy a $348.50 front row ticket to Tuesday night’s New York Open which lasts 4 hours and was widely advertised for Hyeon Chung before his withdrawal, your return on investment is, well, makes Bitcoin look like a solid investment.

The NYCB Live event is an indoor venue and from the looks of things, a beautiful one at that. The black courts should sparkle on television. As an indoor event, however, it might appear to lack the personal touch of even larger tournaments and thus the value to fans. You’re up here and the players are down there. You’re not going to use the same walking paths that the players use and bump into them for autographs. Luckily, there are line-up autograph sessions planned. And yes, there is a second court where seating is announced as general admission, but I’m sure you’ll find the first row reserved for someone with a coat and a friend guarding their seat, just like Grandstand at the U.S. Open. If you really want to be at court level, you can buy one of 28 on-court seats on Stadium Court. But yes, that’ll be $181 for qualifying, for effectively the same experience you get at Charlottesville or Binghamton for nothing.

Courtside Qualifying, $181. Courtside Challenger, Not So Much.

Tournament organizers know all about the US Open 19 miles away and know that fans will pay beaucoup bucks for a lower level seat in Arthur Ashe. And the organizers, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, manage operations for the New York Islanders and the Brooklyn Nets where they understand their NHL and NBA fans, but this isn’t the NHL or the NBA and this isn’t the US Open. It’s only close as the crow flies. It’s a 250 level tournament. It’s the player field of Newport or Houston in the middle of the winter. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe New Yorkers will empty their smart wallets US Open-style for this player field and tournament, but I don’t know. New Yorkers are used to spending a little more for everything, but the vast majority of the seats I’ve described remain unsold. Hopefully, if the seats don’t sell, they’ll allow folks to move down to the front row.

Pricing aside, the whole Memphis-to-New York move is truly a double-edged sword, as Memphis lost its tournament once to Rio only to bring in the San Jose, California tournament to save Memphis (and ostensibly save San Jose, for that matter). The Memphis Open also moved the WTA Oklahoma City event under its shield and, quite possibly, saved that American tournament as well.

I’m glad that the New York Open “rescued” this tournament from becoming the bauble of an oligarch or a potentate far from American shores. A loss of any US tournament is a loss for US tennis and cheers to those who didn’t let this one get away. I just don’t want the fans to have to be oligarchs to afford a great seat.

Tennys Sandgren once mused, among other strange things, that the US Open should be moved to the South where fans are more appreciative (tweet deleted). I don’t know about that, but I do believe that a 250 is a people’s tournament, and I’d like to see good seats priced within the reach of most fans. The loss of Memphis was a powerful, crushing blow to tennis in the America far from the coastlines, and it’s hard to decide whether to celebrate the saving of an American tournament or mourning the loss of the last 250 in the Heartland. I’m sure I’ll feel better about the whole thing as soon as they start playing tennis, because here’s the kicker: I will be there through qualifying and the first round and I can’t wait to see some great ATP action in a beautifully remodeled historic arena, halfway to the U.S. Open and the unofficial kickoff to the American pro tennis year.

LONG ISLAND (Feb. 2, 2018) – The world’s No. 1 tennis player on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings and 2018 Australian Open boys’ singles champion, Sebastian “Sebi” Korda, has been awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the New York Open ATP World Tour tennis tournament taking place Feb. 11-18 at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The 17-year-old Korda is the fifth American to win the Australian Open boys’ singles title and the third in the last 50 years (Donald Young, 2005; Andy Roddick, 2000; Butch Bucholz, 1959; Gerry Moss, 1955). His victory marked 20 years since his father, Petr Korda, won the 1998 Australian Open title. Sebi Korda’s commitment to the New York Open, his first ATP World Tour main draw event, also brings his family’s tennis legacy back to Long Island. Petr won the 1992 Waldbaum’s Hamlet Cup in Commack, NY, where he defeated legend Ivan Lendl 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

“I’m eager to get to New York and continue to follow in my dad’s footsteps,” said Korda. “This will be my biggest tournament to date on the ATP World Tour, and I’m looking forward to playing alongside a lot of great players.”

Hyeon Chung, South Korea’s No. 1 player and Next Gen ATP Finals champion has withdrawn from the New York Open. Chung developed a blister injury on the bottom of his foot, which had forced him to retire during his semifinal match against world No. 2 Roger Federer at the 2018 Australian Open.

“Unfortunately I have to announce that I can’t play in New York next week,” Chung said. “I had been really looking forward to playing in front of the fans there as it’s one of my favorite cities. I was especially looking forward to seeing many Korean fans there. My feet have still not recovered from the events in Melbourne so I need more time. I am sorry not to be there, but I am wishing everyone a great week.”

“Naturally, we are disappointed that Hyeon had to withdraw, but clearly his foot injuries, as many of us have seen digitally and socially, validate the physician’s instruction not to play,” said Tournament Director Josh Ripple. “In the same breath, we are proud to present the world’s No. 1 junior and Australian Open Junior Champion, Sebi Korda, to the New York market as one of our main draw wildcard entries. There’s no bigger stage to debut your skills than New York, and we are certain the community will love watching him compete.”